The Merdeka Belajar (Emancipated Learning) program has colored national education in the last three years. Though various breakthroughs have been made, there are still problems that have yet to be resolved.
By
Kompas Team
·4 minutes read
DOKUMENTASI KEMENDIKBUDRISTEK
Education, Culture, Research and Technology Minister Anwar Makarim leads the commemoration ceremony for National Education Day in Jakarta, Tuesday (2/5/2023).
JAKARTA, KOMPAS – The 2023 National Education Day has created the opportunity to reflect on the struggle of educational transformation through the Merdeka Belajar (Emancipated Learning) program. Although a number of breakthroughs have been made, the fundamental issues of education have not been fully resolved.
In commemoration of the 2023 National Education Day in Jakarta, on Tuesday (2/5/2023), Education, Culture, Research and Technology Minister Nadiem Anwar Makarims said the 24 episodes of the Merdeka Belajar program that have been launched has brought Indonesian education closer to the noble aspirations of the father of education, Ki Hadjar Dewantara. This aspiration is for education to guide the talents, interests and potentials of students in order for them to achieve the highest level of security and happiness as human beings and members of society.
“Our children can now study more peacefully as their learning activities are now assessed more holistically by their teachers,” he said.
According to Nadiem, the quality of education can now be monitored by data from the National Assessment on the Education Report Card Platform. Additionally, the Kurikulum Merdeka (independent curriculum) program also emphasizes in-depth learning to develop characteristics and competencies.
Through the school and educational operational assistance fund program, his party has made it easy to disburse funds and flexibly use funds for schools to improve the quality of learning.
The expansion of the scholarship program has also allowed more opportunities for students to continue to tertiary education. “Company funding support to fund research also gave way to so many innovations as a result of collaboration. Indonesia’s flexible funds can accommodate the creative ideas of artists and cultural actors so that they can produce great works that support the advancement of culture,” Nadiem explained.
Separately, Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas said National Educational Day should not only be commemorated by a ceremony but should also serve as a joint commitment to accelerate the transformation of religious education.
KOMPAS/ESTER LINCE NAPITUPULU
The second Merdeka Campus Festival on Kura-kura Island in Denpasar, Bali, Monday (14/11/2022). Around 400 Indonesian students received enlightenment about the future challenges of Indonesia and the world.
Disparities
Although the Merdeka Belajar program is believed to have succeeded in improving the quality of education, Cecep Darmawan, an education policy observer and professor at the Indonesian University of Education (UPI), is of the opinion that this program has not been able to fully overcome various fundamental problems in education. “There are still educational disparities,” he said on Tuesday.
Disparities can be found in several issues, one of which is during new student intakes. Across almost all regions, only favored schools are full of registrants during new student intakes. “This occurs because educational standards have not been implemented consistently [across all schools],” he said.
The National Education Standard (SNP) serves as the benchmark for Indonesia’s education system. Its scope consists of eight standards, namely graduate competency, content, process, educational assessment, educational staff, facilities and infrastructure, management and financing.
According to Cecep, the Merdeka Belajar program does not cover these eight standards. Disparities in facilities and infrastructure, for one, is quite jarring, especially when comparing schools in urban areas and schools in remote areas, as well as the quality of teaching staff. “Merdeka Belajar should be implemented alongside standardization improvements, especially for facilities and infrastructure, financing and the qualifications of educational staff,” he said.
On a separate note, national coordinator of the Education and Teacher Association (P2G), Satriwan Salim, urged the Education, Culture, Research and Technology Ministry and the provincial and city/district administrations to comprehensively and objectively evaluate each episode of the Merdeka Belajar program.
Unpaid salaries
In Jayapura, Papua, following the National Education Day ceremony, dozens of teachers who are contract-based government employees (PPPK), paid the Papua Education, Library and Regional Archives Center a visit.
“This year’s commemoration for National Education Day is saddening for PPPK teachers in Papua. We are starving because we haven’t received our salaries for months,” said Felisia Rosita, a representative for PPPK teachers in Papua.
Since January, 910 PPPK teachers in Papua, Papua Highlands, South Papua and Central Papua have not received their salaries. They have not been paid because there is no regulation that governs budgeting for PPPK teachers’ salaries.
We are starving because we haven’t received our salaries for months.
Meanwhile, in Palembang, South Sumatra, chairman of the Indonesian Teachers Association (PGRI) South Sumatra chapter, Ahmad Zulinto, questioned the uneven welfare of teachers in the region. “There are still teachers who earn only Rp 300,000 per month,” he said.
Thus, improving the quality and welfare of teachers should be prioritized. Zulinto appreciates the government’s efforts to improve the teachers’ welfare by recruiting PPPK teachers. However, it is a shame that many regions have been unable to allocate an appropriate budget. (TAM/ELN/FLO/RAM/SON)
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